When shown a picture of the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, the famous church in Barcelona, I was not impressed, I thought it looked like melting rock and had no real clarity in what it was trying to portray. Then, when we then visited, I realised I only had a small glimpse of one portion of this huge building. As we stood looking at the back of the Church I looked up and saw colour and creativity; a green tree, a bull, a star, a lot of fruit balled on top of spires and the phrase ‘gloria in excelsis’ written across the highest spires. My opinion of the architect Gaudi’s work was changing. As we travelled around the sides of the Sagrada Familia my heart continued to soften and come alive in Gaudi’s creativity. We made it round to the front of this huge building in Barcelona, to be faced the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection portrayed in carved stills from Judas’ kiss to his ascension. It was carved in stone and traversed front of the building. We stood there with hordes of tourists, taking this immense scene in, yet in that busy moment with the street music lulling us into a meditative state, we stayed quiet and felt the presence of God.
Whatever we think about money being spent on buildings or art, Gaudi had left behind the gospel for generation after generation. It will last longer than any number of my sermons and attracts people from across the globe. Most were there to witness the work of Gaudi and not the life of Jesus, but they couldn’t avoid the story of our Saviour. What if, at any moment someone who is taking holiday snaps discovers God in the art they are viewing, just like we did. Art is powerful and God loves to meet us.
So, my mind was changed, and my heart was changing also. Was I as passionate about my Saviour as Gaudi? Was Jesus really central to all that I do? I continued to ponder this, whilst enjoying tapas.
A few days later I was immersed in a second Gaudi experience at his famous park in Barcelona. I won’t bore you with even more description, but I will share that the guide said Gaudi had three priorities:
Beauty
Structure
Spirituality
I like these priorities, so often we just go with the second, but what would happen if we added point one and point two to our priorities? I wonder if we put more time, money and encouragement into art and creativity, if we would have something that inspires people to draw closer to Jesus for generations to come? Or perhaps invite people for a moment to ponder on the saviour who loves them enough to die for them? What are we doing to encourage the arts and creativity?
I have to let you know, I was a dancer. When my Church encouraged my dancing in worship, when a wonderful man in my Church encouraged me to go for auditions and to actively invite me into his creative world, my gift grew and I started to come alive. Do we have creatives in our Churches and communities, and can we support them through encouragement, through giving space for expression in our Churches and communities, through giving our money or time? If we do, will we find people who, just like us in Barcelona, in 100 years time, take a moment to stop and find themselves breathing in the presence of God?
Jo Allen
Director South West
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